Don’t Flop’s “5th Birthday Weekend” was always going to be an incredible event, not just because of the Battles that had been arranged, but because of the fans themselves. The UK crowd is regarded by a lot of battlers worldwide to be the best crowd in battle rap.

On our coach journey up we were sat just in front of Dizaster, who even said himself “the reason the fans are so good out here is because they all know battle rap, they know who every Battler is and every battle they have taken, it’s amazing.” It always good to hear that people abroad are watching what the UK are doing.

To be honest though, the line up itself was absolutely phenomenal, and will go down as one of the strongest cards worldwide for 2013. Despite Thesaurus & Daylyt not getting through customs, Charlie Clips, Arsonal, DNA, Charron, Bender, Loe Pesci and Cortez all arrived in timely fashion. The venue, Stylus at Leeds Uni, was packed out with around 1,000 keen fans, and from on stage it was an incredible sight to behold.

The first day’s highlights included, well to be quite honest, nearly every battle. Both title matches were how title matches are supposed to be, intense, nearly too close to call and jam packed with quotable after quotable bar, as well as Shuffle T’s Cee Major impression being a hilarious site to witness. Tony D Vs Chris Leese was an absolute bar fest, both sides were relentless in their punches, although Chris’s “You’re like Skylar leaving Walt ‘cause you don’t want to be White” Breaking Bad reference rushes to the forefront of my head.

As well as this, the first day yielded the return of the bosses. Eurgh and Cruger can be well and truly announced as “back.” The pair produced one of the best performances of the weekend, as well as a controversial call out to Organik and King of the Dot. The other point which will surely hit a million views on WorldStar Hip Hop was Mos Prob’s “Probposal” to his battle partner and long term girlfriend, Rapunsell. It was mind blowing to see to say the least.

After the event, one of the postponed events from STS9 finally took place outside the venue. Soul & Olde English are seen as 2 of the strongest writers in the league, and it felt good to witness a battle in pit format after watching everything from on stage. This battle has already been released so take a look!

Day 2 was packed with plenty of “Diva” like antics and theatrics to say the least. These included Locksmyth’s beer projectiles, Loe Pesci’s “lack of reaction” and if you haven’t heard about the Dizaster Vs Arkaic situation, in the words of Danny Jaqq “do your research bro.” In regards to battles, this was probably as good if not better than Battle of the Bay 6.

Bamalam and Bender both came out firing as well as Matter and Loe. Dialect Vs Cortez was truly intense. They appeared to bring the best out of each other. Villun was the rapper that made it clear to see that the Don’t Flop top 15 are on par with anyone in the world. DNA looked a little bit lost as he witnessed Villun break down everything about his life. The “Chill Villun’s” were resonating throughout the venue, even after the battle had finished.

Charron yet again proved why he is currently unbeatable. He out barred and near enough embarrassed Arsonal. The thing is, Arsonal may not be the strongest lyrically, but his presence can very easily overpower most battlers. Charron essentially laughed in his face and flipped pretty much everything that Arsonal had to say. During Eurgh’s battle the idea of an international title match was brought up, and there is nobody more fitted for the role.

The main event of the weekend to most people was always going to be Unanymous Vs Dizaster. It was like Obi-wan Vs Vader, with microphones. During Dizaster’s first round, Psychosis Holocaust was brought to the front of the stage, purely to intimidate Unan. However, he hit back with one of the strongest rounds Don’t Flop have ever heard, he handled the situation perfectly. It was more intense that people had imagined it would be, but it was the perfect battle to end the weekend off with.

It was a pleasure to see all of the Battles take place on stage and to mingle with the fans. Don’t Flop does have the best crowd in battle rap and if they continue to put on events of this size and stature, there is no telling how big the community and brand will grow!